# Stupidest product design you’ve experienced **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 25, 2023, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621 "2023-03-25T02:57:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 86
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2025, 9:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/1701 "2025-05-29T09:48:56Z")
😁 Thanks ! (but I am still quite random). ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2025, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/1702 "2025-05-29T21:03:47Z")
> [@Wolf333](#): > > What kind of wierdo drinks beer with pants on? I just pissed mine, I’m laughing so hard! 😆 ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2025, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/1703 "2025-05-29T21:26:49Z")
On Tuesday, I had to wear academic regalia, as I do once every year. I’m not criticizing the apparel itself: That’s about Tradition (Tradition!), and has had centuries to develop into the least-practical possible form. No, what I’m criticizing here is the little card that Josten’s includes with the “hood”, on how to wear it properly. The directions for how to adjust it properly literally consist, entirely, of “Seek assistance”. Maybe, if even you can’t tell your customers how to use your products, you shouldn’t be in the business of making it. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2025, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/1704 "2025-05-29T22:39:34Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > The directions for how to adjust it properly literally consist, entirely, of “Seek assistance”. This is also about Tradition. Everywhere I’ve had to wear academic regalia for graduation, there’s been a specific person whose traditional unofficial duty it was to properly adjust the hoods of the faculty. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2025, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/1705 "2025-06-01T23:18:14Z")
I got one. My Wife and I bought a new house. Love it. The house has ceiling fans that replaced the regular light in the ceiling in multiple rooms. Each fan has it’s own remote control. OK. 10 foot ceilings, makes sense. The fans/lights remote control has ~ 12 options. 🫤 The remote control, the size of a TV remote, is a perfectly symmetrical ellipse. No up. No down. Remember, this controls the light in the room, and has a dozen buttons. All of them are just round dots. So to turn on the light in the room, you have to have light to find the button to do so. 🤔 My Wife and I are just moving in, air mattresses and all that. Our dog sleeps with us. I had the remote control by my bed. The dog stepped on it or something turning on the fan and light at about 2am. I’m gonna let him operated it. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2025, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/1706 "2025-06-02T06:37:39Z")
Have I brought up already so many of my TVs have the remote IR censor on the bottom of the TV where a sound bar or media player is usually blocking it, and not just up top where there’s completely open space? ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2025, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/1707 "2025-06-02T12:15:37Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Oh, my microwave, when the timer runs down, goes bo-bee-boop… bo-bee-boop… bo-bee-boop… bo-bee-boop… bo-bee-boop… forever until you get there to press the stop button or open the door. It has already stopped cooking, but it continues asking for your most urgent attention for as long as is necessary until you go there and attend to it. My current microwave does that and the beeps (including beeps from key presses) area _really_ loud. I turned the sound off and now the problem I have is that I don’t know when my stuff is done cooking, or worse, I forget about it for a while. But my contribution is on the larger size and it’s been bugging me for long enough that I finally fixed it. A few years ago, my store bought 60 feet of open deck coolers. Like this: [![](https://f7fb9ce6.delivery.rocketcdn.me/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/ORMC82L-produce_PPT-1140x855.jpg) ](https://f7fb9ce6.delivery.rocketcdn.me/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/ORMC82L-produce_PPT-1140x855.jpg) We have them in two different areas and because of how we bought them, they’re the same brand, but slightly different models. We bought half brand new and the other half of them were about two years old, still pretty new. If you need to clean under the lower grate, if you need to change the height of the lower grate, if you need to access the evap coil/blowers/TXV etc, you have to remove the bottom grate. On the newer coolers, no big deal, it just lifts out. On the older ones, the rear of the rack tilts up towards you. That means you have to clear off and remove one or two of the lowest shelves in order for it to be able to swing up. For the life of me, I cannot understand WTF they were thinking. Why on earth did they not make the front tilt up instead? I’ve had these apart enough times and can’t see any reason why it would’ve made a difference. Long story short, the back of these racks have hooks, hence having to raise them up first (and they can’t go in backwards), so I cut the hooks off and made something for that part of the shelf to rest on. Everything still works exactly as it did before, but the bottom shelves lift right out now. It was a weekend of taking every one of them out (including the shelves above them), cutting off these hooks, grinding and painting the cut area, making and painting the new parts and reinstalling it all. A lot of work, but absolutely worth it. Well, I say it was absolutely worth it, but I’m still waiting for the other shoe to drop. I have this feeling that, at some point in the future, I’m going to find out there was a good reason for the shelves to be like this. I don’t think that’s going to happen, but I fear having to replace (or repair) all these shelves I cut apart. At least, due to the nature of what I was doing, as soon as I had an old shelf out, the other shelves could go right back in and be reloaded since I wouldn’t need the clearance anymore. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2025, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/1708 "2025-06-02T17:25:11Z")
Final ep: turns out it was a dream with a buxom blonde wearing tight sweaters. ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2025, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/1709 "2025-06-02T19:11:45Z")
For most of my life a pint of Ben & Jerry’s (or any other ice cream) was a single serving. After I first developed lactose intolerance and discovered Lactaid I could still do that. Then as my lactose intolerance intensified, I had to take two pills for a pint. Now even with Lactaid I can only eat half, or sometimes a third, of a pint without severe consequences. My life sucks. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2025, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/1710 "2025-06-02T19:32:01Z")
Something that really grinds my gears is bathroom faucets that are too short. I’m currently staying in a house where the faucet extends about 1 inch past the far edge of the sink. There’s no room to put your hands under the water stream. Instead of letting the water run over your hands you have to catch some water in your cupped palm and try to spread it around your hands, then repeat as necessary. Sure, I understand that a short faucet is cheaper to manufacture than a long one, but this thing just fails at its intended purpose. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2025, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/1711 "2025-06-02T19:46:18Z")
> [@LurkMeister](#): > > After I first developed lactose intolerance and discovered Lactaid I could still do that. Then as my lactose intolerance intensified, I had to take two pills for a pint. Now even with Lactaid I can only eat half, or sometimes a third, of a pint without severe consequences. My life sucks. Yeah, mine is only mild, but since I don’t have cereal all that often, when I do, once a year or so, one small bowl is not enough to satisfy me. I’ve been having the yearly cravings lately and never even thought about Lactaid. I might try that if I can find some just to see what happens. I haven’t had Bear Naked Triple Berry granola in a long time, and it’s expensive if you use it as a cereal, but that’s nothing compared to the cost to my innards! ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2025, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/1712 "2025-06-02T19:47:55Z")
Speaking of which – when I’m out doing errands, the bathroom sinks at one of the places I frequently stop at has those autosensors that are supposed to turn the water on when you put your hands under the faucet. Only this one won’t keep the water in when you put your hands where the water stream is. In order to make the water run, you have to have your hands so close to the sensor that they’re out of the stream. I wind up rinsing one hand at a time, with the other one keeping the sensor happy. Maybe that one needs a shorter faucet than it’s got. Or better yet, a properly adjusted sensor. ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2025, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/1713 "2025-06-02T20:25:39Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > you have to have your hands so close to the sensor that they’re out of the stream I’ve had that happen. A very poor design. The point of the following story is that I now believe when the automatic faucets don’t work it is because the proprietor doesn’t care. Either bought a system that doesn’t work, installed it wrong, or didn’t get it adjusted correctly. Possibly all of those things. The St. Julien hotel in Boulder is the only place I’ve been where the automatic sensor faucets consistently work exactly as they should. Put your hands under the faucet, a strong stream of water comes out, and continues to come out until you remove your hands from under the faucet. These things can be good. The St. Julien understands that attention to detail is one of the big differences between an excellent hotel and a merely expensive hotel. One time one of the sinks sensors wasn’t working well. Later in the day a facilities person was working on it, and then it was perfect the rest of the week. It just needed some adjustment to keep it from being as bad as the ones found most places. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2025, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/1714 "2025-06-02T20:29:35Z")
Those sensor faucets are sold to commercial or government customers on the basis that they will greatly reduce water use and therefore save money, not cost money, to buy and install. On that spits out a piddle of water for 4 seconds max, then has a 20 second pause before permitting the next piddle, is behaving _exactly_ as the engineers designed and the customer management wanted. Their goal is _not_ that you wash your hands thoroughly and effectively and easily. Their goal is to comply with the building or health code requiring sinks in restrooms, while spending as little money as possible. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2025, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/1715 "2025-06-02T20:38:37Z")
Some automatic faucets have too cold water, which is annoying because the user can’t adjust the mix. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2025, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/1716 "2025-06-02T20:42:59Z")
Most faucets in public places are plumbed only with the cold side; no hot supply at all. Which is fine unless you’re in a small building in a place with snow on the ground. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2025, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/1717 "2025-06-02T22:20:16Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > Something that really grinds my gears is bathroom faucets that are too short. I’m currently staying in a house where the faucet extends about 1 inch past the far edge of the sink. There’s no room to put your hands under the water stream. Yeah, I haven’t encountered this often, but when I have, it’s been annoying. ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2025, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/1718 "2025-06-02T23:31:48Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > Yeah, mine is only mild, but since I don’t have cereal all that often, when I do, once a year or so, one small bowl is not enough to satisfy me. I’ve been having the yearly cravings lately and never even thought about Lactaid. I might try that if I can find some just to see what happens. I haven’t had Bear Naked Triple Berry granola in a long time, and it’s expensive if you use it as a cereal, but that’s nothing compared to the cost to my innards! I’ve found that almond milk (or drink as it’s often labelled now due to complaints from dairy farmers) is a reasonable substitute for use with cereals. I’ve also tried soy and oat varieties with mixed results. I’ve never tried lactaid milk, so I can’t speak to its taste. Lactaid is fairly easy to find in the digestive aids section of any drugstore. I’ve been using the CVS variant for years, and it’s very effective in allowing me to consume small amounts of dairy products. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2025, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/1719 "2025-06-03T18:12:34Z")
> [@GargoyleWB](#): > > In my engineering life building stuff, an audible fault or status indicator is almost always the worst choice, for the reasons you describe. Ambient noise, room shape, etc can also make localizing or noticing the sound a crapshoot. A visual indicator is always better, a simple flag that flips from green to red on low voltage would be trivially cheap and simple. Even an LED that flashes intermittently instead of a chirp would be superior. Except that for something mission critical that is also in a place you might never look, a visual cue on its own would not be enough. The audible alert feels like a requirement in this case. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2025, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/1720 "2025-06-03T19:42:42Z")
> [@LurkMeister](#): > > I’ve never tried lactaid milk, so I can’t speak to its taste. My sister buys Lactaid, and I use it occasionally for cereal. I can’t tell any difference from full Lactose milk. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621.md?page=85) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621.md?page=87)